Donald Trump continues to shape his team for when he takes office, next January 20 at noon. The president-elect has announced that he will appoint former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as head of the “Lee, with a solid legal background, has been a true fighter for ‘America First’ policies. “It will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that are enacted in a way that unleashes the power of American companies, while maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said in his note.
The key aspect of that paragraph is deregulation. Republicans complain that overly strict environmental requirements slow economic growth. Trump is against some of the polluting emissions limits that Joe Biden’s Government has imposed on companies through the EPA. Zeldin “will establish new standards for environmental review and maintenance, which will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way,” according to Trump.
As with his other appointments, Zeldin has demonstrated his loyalty to Trump at all times, even after the assault on the Capitol. He voted against certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections. That has weighed more than anything else, since he has hardly any experience in environmental issues, beyond having promoted some legislative initiative in this regard.
“I am honored to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” “We will restore America’s energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make America the world leader in AI. We will do this while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.
Shortly after the announcement, he also gave an interview to the conservative news channel Fox News. “On the first day and the first 100 days, we have the opportunity to roll back the regulations that are giving companies a hard time,” he said. “They are forced to cut costs internally, they are moving abroad completely in order to reinforce liquidity in the American economy, where companies are striving to grow, expand here and have the ability to export what they produce, instead of exporting their jobs in the company… the companies themselves,” he added.
The League of Conservation Voters, a major environmental group, noted that it gave Zeldin an environmental score of 14 out of 100 for his actions as a congressman. He has stressed that he voted against the Inflation Reduction Law, with strong incentives for green energy, against strong measures against price speculation by large oil companies, and against the protection of clean water and air. against EPA methane pollution safeguards.
Zeldin criticized the Biden-Harris administration for canceling a key permit needed for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and for rejoining the Paris climate agreement following Trump’s withdrawal.
The congressman abandoned his seat to compete to be the governor of New York in the November 2022 elections. During his candidacy for governor, he proposed reversing the ban in the state of New York on fracking, the extraction of shale oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing techniques. Although he was defeated by Democrat Kathy Hochul, he achieved the highest number of votes for a Republican candidate in the entire state since Nelson Rockefeller more than half a century earlier. His good performance helped the Republicans in the elections to the House of Representatives and, with it,
Born and raised in Suffolk County, Zeldin, 44, served four years on active duty in the United States Army, where he served as a military intelligence officer, prosecutor and military magistrate. In 2006 he was deployed to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Currently, he continues his service as a lieutenant colonel in the reserves.
In 2010, Zeldin was elected state senator in New York, where he served until 2014, when he won a seat in the House of Representatives. During his eight years in Congress, Zeldin served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. As one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, he co-chaired the House Republican Israel Caucus, which had more than 100 members.
